Higher Education Act Reauthorization

With the Higher Education Act (HEA) up for reauthorization, members of Congress have been busy introducing legislation to change and streamline federal financial aid processes. In this Higher Education Act Reauthorization Center, find in-depth analyses from NASFAA staff on key proposals set forth by the U.S. Senate and U.S. House of Representatives. Scroll down to read the latest coverage of HEA reauthorization legislation.

See below for links to the text of each reauthorization bill that has been released to date:

Jan. 8, 2015 - Yesterday, Senator Lamar Alexander (R-TN), new Chairman of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), along with Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), officially introduced the Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency (FAST) Act. The bill, released last summer in the form of a discussio...

Nov. 21, 2014 - Yesterday Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced a comprehensive Higher Education Act reauthorization bill. The Higher Education Affordability Act (HEAA) was originally released in the form of a discussion draft in late Jun...

July 30, 2014 - This article is the sixth in a series that examines various provisions proposed in the Higher Education Affordability Act (HEAA), introduced by Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP) on June 25.

July 16, 2014 - Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), introduced a comprehensive Higher Education Act reauthorization bill on June 25. The Higher Education Affordability Act (HEAA), which includes several provisions for which NASFAA has been advocating, tak...

July 11, 2014 - This article is the third in a series that will examine various provisions proposed by the Higher Education Affordability Act. The Harkin discussion draft bill proposes several changes to the Federal Methodology used to calculate a student’s expected family contribution. It would also make changes to th...

July 11, 2014 - On Thursday, Members of the U.S. House Committee on Education and the Workforce advanced three bills related to reauthorization of the Higher Education Act: The Advancing Competency-Based Education Demonstration Project Act, The Strengthening Transparency in Higher Education Act, and The Empowering Stud...

July 9, 2014 - There has been a frenzy of activity on Capitol Hill in recent weeks as Congress gears up for the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act (HEA). This article provides summaries of the most recent proposals that have been put forward including the Financial Aid Simplification and Transparency Act, the ...

July 3, 2014 - This article is the second in a series that will examine various provisions proposed by the Higher Education Affordability Act. The Harkin bill would reinstate year-round Pell Grants for students enrolled in extra payment periods within an award year in order to accelerate their degree program completion...

July 2, 2014 - Tom Harkin (D-IA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), introduced a comprehensive Higher Education Act reauthorization bill on June 25. The Higher Education Affordability Act (HEAA), which includes several provisions for which NASFAA has been advocating, take...

June 26, 2014 - Yesterday Chairman of the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (HELP), Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), introduced a comprehensive Higher Education Act reauthorization bill that includes several provisions for which NASFAA has been advocating, including using prior-prior year (PPY) income...

July 8, 2013 - This ninth and final article in the series explores NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force's (RTF) recommendations regarding need analysis. Topics reviewed include the IRS/FAFSA data exchange; the treatment of unmarried partners or same-sex couples; and the definition of dependents regarding household size.

June 24, 2013 - This eighth article is the first of two on Need Analysis and includes a recommendation from NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force (RTF) for the use of prior-prior year income data as the basis for calculating expected family contribution, among other recommendations.

June 3, 2013 - In this sixth article in the series, NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force's (RTF) recommendations regarding the return of Title IV funds (R2T4) process are reviewed. When RTF held listening sessions to identify membership concerns, the R2T4 process was the third most commented-on topic.

May 24, 2013 - The third article in this series highlights recommendations of NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force (RTF) with regard to the Federal Pell Grant Program. Recommendations include: making it a true entitlement program, rescinding institutional ineligibility for Pell Grants due to loan default rates, allowing...

May 21, 2013 - This is the second in this series of articles, and the second of two on the Direct Loan Program. Highlighted recommendations from NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force (RTF) include: elimination of loan fees, loan subsidies, interest rates, and consolidation.

May 15, 2013 - The first article in this series highlights recommendations from NASFAA’s Reauthorization Task Force (RTF) regarding creation of a separate loan program for graduate borrowers, loan disbursement, late origination, repayment incentives, proration of annual loan limits, a school's authority to reduce loan ...

In order to help navigate the various Higher Education Act Reauthorization proposals, NASFAA has developed a comparison chart that illustrates the similarities and differences between the draft legislation.